WEBVTT HELP HELP KEEPPATIENTS WITH OPIATEPRESCRIPTIONS ON TRACK.NBC5'S RENEE WUNDERLICH SHOWS USHOW IT WORKS.RENEE: COULD THIS PILL CAP BE AKEY TO CURBING OPIOID ABUSE?>> THEY ARE TIMED CAPS.IT LETS YOU KNOW THE LAST TIMEYOU CLOSE TO HER PILL BOTTLE,SO, SAY YOU TAKE A MEDICATIONEVERY DAY, AND YOU TAKE IT EVERYMORNING, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, ITIS NOON, AND YOU WONDER, DID ITAKE MY MEDICATION TODAY, AND ITCOUNTS YOUR TIME SINCE THE LASTDOSE.RENEE: PHARMACIST MEGHAN BARRYBISSONNETTE SAYS THEY MAY ALSOSPUR PATIENTS TO TALK WITH THEIRHEALTHCARE PROVIDORS IF THEYFIND THEMSELVES TURNING TO THEIRPRESCRIPTION SOONER THAN THEYSHOULD.>> SOMETIMES OUR MINDS TRICK US.IT I TAKE THEM OR NOT QUESTIONWHAT WHEN IS MY NEXT DOES?THERE IS NO SETTING.IT IS NORMALLY CLOSE YOUR CAPLIKE YOU NORMALLY WOULD, AND ITTIMES IT.RENEE: THE TIMER CAPS HAVE ACHILD-SAFE SEAL, BUT DON'T LOCK.NOR DO THEY PREVENT USERS FROMTAKING OUT TOO MUCH AT ONCE.BUT THE TIMER FEATURE COULDINDICATE IF SOMEONE ELSE IS ALSOOPENING THE MEDICATION.>> WHAT IT DOES IS TELL YOU THELAST TIME THAT WAS OPENED.IT IS MOSTLY USED FOR THEPATIENT TO STAY ON SCHEDULE, BUTIT WILL SHOW YOU THE LAST TIMEIT WAS CLOSED.

New timer pill cap only releases opiates on patient's schedule

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Updated: 5:35 PM CDT May 22, 2017

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. —

Could this pill bottle cap be a key to curbing opioid abuse?

CVS Pharmacy designed special caps to help patients keep track of their pill-taking, and the caps can be used for any medication, not just opioids.

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"(They’re) called 'timer caps'. They're like a stopwatch for your pill bottle,” said Meghan Barry Bissonnette, a pharmacist at CVS. "This cap lets you know the last time you closed your pill bottle. So say you take a medication once a day, you take it every morning. And all of a sudden it's noon and you go, 'Did I take my medication today?' You can go back and look at that bottle and it counts up the number of hours since your last dose -- since you last closed the bottle."

Bissonnette said the caps may also spur patients to talk with their health care providers if they find themselves turning to their prescription sooner than they should.

"Sometimes our minds can trick us into when we last took our medications, when we're due; did we take them? Did we not? Can I take my next dose? So this is a visual reminder that's incredibly simple to use. There's no setting,” she said. “It's just close your cap like you would your normal pill bottle and it counts up."

The timer caps have a child-safe seal, but don't lock. Nor do they prevent users from taking out too much at once.

But the timer feature could indicate if someone else is also opening the medication.

“The most important thing for this cap is it just tells you the last time it was closed. So it will count up from that time. It's mostly used for the patent, but it will show you the last time the bottle was closed,” she said.